Monterey County Sheriff's Deputy M. Smith said the March 22 wildfire was contained to a small area thanks to fast-acting citizens and emergency crews.

An investigation into who caused the Clear Ridge Road fire was launched by the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade and U.S. Forest Service.

A 26-year-old transient who hangs out in Big Sur and Monterey, Harlan Dean Graves, was identified as a suspect, Smith said.

On Monday, Graves was interviewed in the Monterey County Jail, where he was being held for unrelated criminal charges.

"Graves admitted to unintentionally starting the fire with a cigarette," Smith said.

Graves was charged with recklessly causing a wildfire, a felony, and his bail was increased to $10,000. According to arrest records, Graves was also arrested in Santa Cruz County in May.

As of Tuesday, U.S. Forest Service investigators had still not determined what caused the December 2013 Pfeiffer Fire. That wildfire destroyed 34 houses and 900 acres in Los Padres National Forest. More than 1,000 firefighters battled the Pfeiffer Fire as it burned for five days.

A fire official who asked not to be identified said a lawsuit and criminal charges are likely if and when a Pfeiffer Fire suspect is arrested.

Meanwhile, bow hunter Keith Matthew Emerald, 32, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury and accused of causing an August 2013 wildfire that burned 400 square miles in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest.

Emerald pleaded not guilty. Early in the investigation, he acknowledged he started a fire to cook a meal and burned trash from his backpack, according to a search warrant affidavit. Emerald said he lost control of the fire that burned for more than two months.

The hunter was rescued by a helicopter. Investigators said he lied about what happened, later denied causing the fire, and blamed it on a rockslide and illegal marijuana growers.

Emerald turned himself in to authorities Tuesday and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.